September 25, 2019 3:47 am
UNDATED (AP) – The St. Louis Blues have bolstered their blueline by getting All-Star Justin Faulk from the Carolina Hurricanes for fellow defenseman Joel Edmundson and a prospect. The defending Stanley Cup champs immediately signed Faulk to a seven-year, $45.5 million extension that begins next year. The 27-year-old Faulk set team records for defensemen with 85 goals and 258 points during his eight seasons with the Hurricanes, who selected him in the first round of the 2010 NHL draft.
September 24, 2019 3:41 am
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed restricted free agent forward Brayden Point to a $20.25 million, three-year contract. Point will count $6.75 million against the salary cap through the 2022-23 season. Point’s contract ends a long stalemate with the Lightning that caused the budding 23-year-old star to miss most of training camp. Point put up 92 points last season as the Lightning won the Presidents’ Trophy only to be swept in the first round of the playoffs.
September 23, 2019 4:02 am
UNDATED (AP) – Antonio Brown says he is finished with the NFL. Brown said in a Twitter rant Sunday morning that he “Will not be playing in the NFL anymore.” He went on to take shots at other people in football who have been accused of sexual misconduct, including Patriots owner Robert Kraft and longtime Steelers teammate Ben Roethlisberger. Brown was released by the Patriots on Friday, two days before their game with the Jets and 11 days after signing with the team. The four-time Pro Bowl receiver was cut by the Raiders two weeks ago, five months after he was acquired from the Steelers for draft picks and signed to a $50 million contract.
September 22, 2019 7:04 am
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) – Kendall Austin threw 202 yards, Martell Pettaway ran for a pair of scores, and West Virginia held on for a 29-24 victory over Kansas to open Big 12 play Saturday. Kennedy McCoy added 73 yards rushing and a touchdown, and Evan Staley bounced back from an early miss to hit three field goals, as the Mountaineers (3-1) improved to 8-1 against the Jayhawks. The Mountaineers held Kansas (2-2) to 377 yards total offense, one week after new coach Les Miles’ bunch had 567 yards and five TDs in a rare road rout of Boston College. And much of the yardage Saturday came as the Jayhawks drove frantically for a touchdown with 2:10 left in the game.
September 21, 2019 3:47 am
(AP)- Pittsburgh running back Franco Harris’ scoop of a deflected pass and subsequent run for the winning touchdown in a 1972 playoff victory against Oakland has been voted the greatest play in NFL history. A nationwide panel of 68 media members chose the “Immaculate Reception” as the top play with 3,270 points and 39 first-place votes. Second in the balloting was Dwight Clark’s TD catch from Joe Montana that lifted San Francisco past Dallas to win the 1981 NFC championship.
September 20, 2019 3:47 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph says he’s not going to change now that he’s filling in for Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger is out for the season with an elbow injury, opening the door for Rudolph to make the first start of his NFL career when the Steelers visit San Francisco. Rudolph says he’s been preparing as if he’s the starter since the day the Steelers selected him in the 2018 draft and he’s eager to help the Steelers emerge from an early 0-2 hole.
September 19, 2019 3:37 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick is trying to get up to speed quickly with his new team. The Steelers acquired Fitzpatrick from Miami for three draft picks. Fitzpatrick joins a defense that was pushed around at times in losses New England and Seattle. Fitzpatrick said he didn’t feel out of place during his first practice with the Steelers. Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said he plans to play Fitzpatrick extensively when the team visits San Francisco.
September 18, 2019 3:44 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Pittsburgh Pirates All-Star closer Felipe Vazquez has been arrested on charges of pornography and soliciting a child. Vazquez was taken into custody Tuesday morning by State Police on one count of computer pornography/solicitation of a child and one count of providing obscene material to minors. Both charges are felonies. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says it began investigating the 28-year-old Vazquez in August after learning of an alleged sexual relationship between Vazquez and a teenage girl living in Lee County, Florida. Authorities say Vazquez, who lives in Saint Cloud, Florida, and the victim began the relationship when the girl was 13. The girl, now 15, allegedly received a video text message from Vazquez in July in which he was performing a sex act. Vazquez also allegedly texted the girl to ask if she wanted to meet for a sexual encounter following the end of the baseball season. The Pirates said they have informed the MLB commissioner’s office and expect Vazquez to be placed on administrative leave.
September 16, 2019 3:50 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Russell Wilson threw for three touchdowns, including a 28-yard rainbow to DK Metcalf midway through the fourth quarter, and the Seattle Seahawks held off the Pittsburgh Steelers 28-26 on Sunday. The Steelers lost starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a right elbow injury late in the first half and fell to 0-2 for the first time since 2013 despite solid play from backup Mason Rudolph, who threw a pair of second-half touchdown passes to Vance McDonald in relief. Roethlisberger began flexing his right arm after an incompletion late in the second quarter. He stayed in to finish the drive before jogging to the locker room. When the 37-year-old QB emerged for the second half, he was wearing a white cap while Rudolph, taken in the third round of the 2018 draft, took the first meaningful snaps of his career. Rudolph completed 12 of 19 passes for 112 yards, the two scores and an interception but couldn’t quite keep pace with Wilson and the Seahawks (2-0). Wilson was 29 of 35 for 300 yards and the three TDs, becoming the fifth-fastest quarterback in league history to reach 200 career touchdown passes (114 games). Wilson also ran four times for 24 yards, most of it coming on Seattle’s final drive as the Seahawks protected a two-point lead. A week after escaping Cincinnati with a one-point win, a game in which coach Pete Carroll said his team wasn’t particularly crisp, the Seahawks took advantage of a series of mental mistakes by the Steelers to win in Pittsburgh for the first time in 20 years.
Wilson’s first touchdown pass to Will Dissly – a 14-yarder in the second quarter – came after Steelers defensive tackle Dan McCullers was called for a personal foul on a field goal attempt by Seattle. The Seahawks took the first down instead of the points, and on the next snap Wilson hit a soaring Dissly for the score. Seattle went in front early in the second half when a pass from Rudolph to Donte Moncrief went through the receiver’s hands, smacked off his facemask and landed in the arms of Seahawks safety Bradley McDougald. Wilson found Dissly again for a 12-yard score seven plays later. A 37-yard touchdown sprint by Rashaad Penny put Seattle up 21-13 late in the third quarter before Rudolph guided Pittsburgh 75 yards for a score, ending a 12-play drive with an 8-yard flip to get the Steelers within 21-19. Rudolph tried to hit JuJu Smith-Schuster on the 2-point conversion attempt, but it was picked off. Pittsburgh had the Seahawks backed up on Seattle’s ensuing possession. The Seahawks had a third-and-20 when Wilson flung it deep for Tyler Lockett. The pass fell incomplete, but Carroll challenged the play, claiming Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds interfered with Lockett. The 38-yard penalty was enforced after review. Three plays later, Wilson found Metcalfe streaking into the end zone to restore Seattle’s nine-point lead. It was just enough to give the Seahawks their first 2-0 start since 2013, when they went on to win the Super Bowl.
September 14, 2019 4:16 am
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Despite being listed as questionable on the injury report, Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey says he will play in Sunday’s home opener against the Seattle Seahawks. Five other starters who missed practice time this week all were cleared for Sunday. Cornerback Joe Haden also is questionable and did not sound as optimistic as Pouncey that he could face the Seahawks.
